Evening Tea
by BlueMew
Summary: “I do not care to dwell on the past. You know that.” "And yet the past is all you ever had, Integra." One shot AxI ficlet.


Well, this fic was due out four days ago, but my jump drive has a mind of its own, and I had to totally reupload Office because my jump drive corrupted all of the programs that it had open upon the time of its warping.  
  
And then, to add insult to injury, Word ended up becoming corrupted, so I lost a quarter of what I was writing. Thank God that I sent the first part of this to AF for review.  
I had promised myself one thing upon the completion of the Dis series. No cliché AxI fics.  
  
And yet here I am, writing something inspired by one of the most overused songs on ff.net- My Immortal.  
  
This fic speaks of AxI, but there's no lemon or lime to go with it. Once you read just a portion of this fic, you'll understand why.  
  
So review if you read.  
  
Mew  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The appearance of London had not changed much since William had been declared the King of the land. Buildings and streets remained the same, as did the public transportation vehicles and other oddities that remain situated throughout the city. Even while personal vehicles and fashions changed for the commoners, the nobility seemed immune to the fads of the age.  
But then again, the noble Knights of the Round Table placed themselves above the tawdry affairs of clothing styles and other low trends, preferring to wear their time honored suits and ties for all functions.  
It was rare, these days, for the Round Table to meet at all, less to discuss the yearly budget cuts implemented because of new sanctions issued by the crown.  
Though the meetings were so few, Integral had missed the last four yearly fiscal planning sessions, sending only the aged Commander Starling, one of the first female officers she had ever allowed in the Organization.  
Another year was beginning its downward spiral. The leaves on the birch trees were already turning lovely shades of oranges and reds, and some had already fallen to the ground in a scattered, abstract mosaic.  
How many had it been since she received her death sentence?  
Oh yes. Forty-five years had already gone by. At the age of thirty-two, Integral Hellsing had been diagnosed with ovarian and cervical cancers. Doctors had given her only months to live, since the widespread atrophy of the tissue not only of the inflicted organs, but also of the surrounding ones, was more than any normal human should have ever survived, even if she were to receive a hysterectomy.  
But Integral Hellsing was far too stubborn to allow a simple disease to steal her from the world of the living. The operation was a complete success, and though she was barren, she had never informed her colleagues and associates of what had become of the leader of the Organization.  
She prayed every night upon learning of her fate, asking for God to spare her life and cure the disease so that she could continue to do his work, pledging that she would give up her favorite indulgence, the cigars that everyone predicted to kill her, if the cancer could be cured.  
She quit smoking three months after her diagnosis. The cancer had gone in to remission after the surgery, and she had to keep her promise with God.  
Now seventy-seven years old, her hair white with age and her features bowing under the pull of gravity, Integra had proved everyone wrong by outliving every member of her staff and of the Round Table, at the time of her diagnosis, except for those already inflicted with a far worse fate than death- unlife.  
She sat at her desk wearing a plain olive colored cotton robe over a dark hunter cotton nightshirt and pants; her stark white hair looped in a bun at the base of her neck as she waded through paperwork, squinting through her glasses as she tried to sharpen the blurred words on the transcript from the recent Round Table conference.  
"It seems the major concern of the Round Table members is the fact you have yet to choose a successor, my Master."  
The old woman did not turn away from her paperwork as the vampire who had saved her life so many years ago when she was a child stepped seemingly out of nowhere, coming to rest behind her. His cool hands rested on her shoulders, rubbing the tension from her weary muscles as crimson eyes quickly scanned the document.  
"Alucard, did I give you permission to touch me?" Waiting for the vampire to move to the chair in front of her, Integral sighed as she set the paper back on her desk, removing her glasses as she sighed. "The Round Table's concern for my lack of an heir is old business. You should know that- hell, the bastards were calling me unfit for marriage and unable to bear children before I had even turned sixteen."  
The vampire relaxed in his chair, his features unchanged. He could not age, but still, he did wish the woman's pride had not interfered with her judgment. With just a taste of his blood, she could regain some of her strength, her youth, her life, and yet she always refused the offer.  
He could have cured her disease, if only she would have accepted his offer.  
"You are getting old Master."  
"Richard's wife bore a son of his blood born just after his death, and that son created more than enough Hellsing family members to take command when I am dead, Alucard. And I really don't care who runs the Organization after I leave the world. Let the family decide, understood?"  
Alucard chuckled. "That was a wonderful day, wouldn't you agree?"  
Integral just shrugged, opening the drawer where she used to keep her cigars only to find pencils and chewing gum. She could really use any sort of smoke right now as memories of the past rose to haunt her waking moments.  
"I do not care to dwell on the past. You know that."  
"And yet the past is all you have ever had, Integra."  
Sighing, the aged woman pinched the bridge of her nose, relieving tension created by the glasses. "Maybe I've changed. Humans do learn from their mistakes, especially ones involving the undead."  
Alucard laughed, his eyes glistening in the glow of her desk lamp. "So which one was the mistake? Allowing me in your bed, or kicking me out of it?"  
Standing from her chair, Integral walked across her office to where the hotplate she had purchased after Walter passed to the next world- funny, she replaced her family's best and most loyal subject with mere appliances- pressing the button for it to warm the cup of tea that already sat waiting for her.  
"This is inappropriate conversation."  
"Why, master?" The vampire crossed his legs as he watched her gingerly pick the now warm glass from the heater, sipping just a drop before shuffling back to the desk. "You were twenty-four at the time, and just as lovely as you are now, might I add. I had just returned from a mission, and apparently something possessed you to break down, crying as you hugged me upon my return, begging for me to never leave you again."  
"I never did anything like that Alucard. I was just curious as to what intercourse was like and was not about to get some disease from a pitiful mortal."  
"Then why did the relationship last until you were fifty-three? Why did you request me in your bed even after you lost the last shreds of your femininity?"  
Integral snorted as she sat in her chair once again. "I'd rather be having the conversation about choosing an heir or the one about accepting your offer, you do realize that."  
The vampire leaned back in his chair, placing his arms above his head. "So do you accept my offer?"  
"Has the Police Girl accepted your offer?"  
He chuckled. "Are we turning things in to a competition with Seras now, my master? Is that why you refuse to allow her anywhere near you, hmm? Does her youth and beauty make you long for the many times I offered my blood to you when you were in your twenties? Is that the problem, my master?"  
Integral sipped her tea, ignoring the comment. Alucard was partially correct as to why Seras was no longer allowed in her presence. The girl would forever be how she had been so many years ago even though it had only been fate that made her what she was today. Vampires had been just a myth in her imagination before that night, and yet, she would forever remain in the world of the living, but only as a shadow.  
It was sickening that the girl could be so damned lucky! Integral had spent her life as the master of those that did not exist in this reality, and yet she would be dead soon while her servants remained youthful, perfect. . . . more alive than she would be in a few years.  
"I'm sorry Alucard. My comment was uncalled for."  
The vampire nodded, smiling slightly as he uncrossed his legs, leaning forward in his chair.  
"You never answered my question. Do you want the blood?"  
Integral sighed, annoyed with the persistent questioning. "What good would it do for me to accept your blood at my age Alucard? I would be stuck in this frail, withered shell even if I could gain all of your strengths and abilities. How would the world react to a grandmotherly vampire?" She smirked, replacing her glasses. "My answer remains what it always has been."  
"Do you know how old I was when I was turned, master?"  
"Alucard, I have paperwork to complete. Please leave."  
The vampire nodded, standing from his chair, but stepping toward her desk to look down at the cup of Earl Grey. "May I have a sip of your tea then?"  
"If you must, though I cannot understand why on earth you refuse to make your own tea now that you've grown to enjoy it."  
The steam from the beverage engulfed his senses as Alucard lifted the small cup to his mouth, barely allowing the liquid to enter his mouth.  
He wasn't about to drink that vile beverage.  
His eyes darted to where the elderly woman sat, bowed over her paperwork as she scribbled notes in the margin, piercing his tongue with a fang, waiting for the blood to fill his mouth, forcing himself not to swallow. Finally, he allowed the tea to enter his mouth, mixing with his blood, and allowed the mixture back in the small cup, replacing it on her desk before leaving the office.  
"Have a good evening, Miss Hellsing."  
Sighing, Integra raised her eyes to watch her vampire disappear from the office, before lifting the teacup to her lips, sipping the contents yet again.  
Funny.  
She didn't remember putting any flavoring in the tea. 


End file.
